Hyderabad: Education is the primary reason men remain outside the labour force in Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam, while unpaid household responsibilities continue to be the biggest barrier for women, according to the latest city-level estimates from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS).Among men outside the labour force, education was cited as the reason by 71.3% in Vijayawada, the second-highest among the 47 million-plus cities after Patna. The share was 56.1% in Greater Visakhapatnam and 54.3% in Greater Hyderabad, all above the urban India average of 52.9%.The pattern among women was markedly different. Household responsibilities, including childcare and domestic work, emerged as the biggest reason for staying outside the workforce. The share was 62.6% in Vijayawada, 59.4% in Greater Visakhapatnam and 57.6% in Greater Hyderabad.The contrast comes despite all three cities recording higher female Labour Force Participation Rates (LFPRs) than the national urban average. Greater Visakhapatnam recorded a female LFPR of 34.6%, ranking fourth among million-plus cities, followed by Greater Hyderabad at 32.9% and Vijayawada at 30.8%. The urban India average was 27.7%.For men, health and old age emerged as the other major reasons for staying out of the workforce. These accounted for 39.5% of men outside the labour force in Greater Hyderabad, 39.4% in Vijayawada and 35.9% in Greater Visakhapatnam.Among women, health and age-related factors were a distant second. The share was 22.4% in Vijayawada and 12.9% each in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam, compared with the urban India average of 10.9%.Education was also a significant factor among women, particularly in Visakhapatnam, where 20.6% of women outside the labour force said they were continuing their studies. The share was 17.6% in Hyderabad and 10.9% in Vijayawada.The data shows that non-participation in the labour market has different implications for men and women in the Telugu cities. For men, staying out of the workforce often reflects preparation for future employment or age-related constraints, while for women, unpaid household responsibilities remain the biggest barrier to entering the workforce.
